The Ugly American (tourists in Italy)

[leafman60]

Idiots

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-tourists-caught-carving-names-into-rome%e2%80%99s-colosseum/ar-AA9wrdS?ocid=HPDHP

[Bill Hagan]

Yes, idiots.

Feed them to the lions.   >:(

I have never understood graffiti.  Period.

Bill

[Kev m]

My first thought was SHYTE one of my idiot little brother in laws is living in Rome this semester....

Second thought was, idiots poorly representing our country.

Third thought was phew Australia and Canada beat us to it in recent history.

The Californians’ lawbreaking comes little over three months after a Russian tourist was caught carving a 25cm letter into the Colosseum. The 42-year-old was given a four-month suspended prison sentence and a €20,000 fine, although owing to a lack of funds he has not paid the penalty.

The Russian was the fifth person to be stopped for defacing the ancient monument last year, with others hailing from Australia, Brazil and Canada.

[Gliderjohn]

The women probably think the LA coliseum is older. ::)
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

 Stupid yes , in the grand scheme of things not that big a deal .

  Dusty

[Phang]

My first thought was SHYTE one of my idiot little brother in laws is living in Rome this semester....

Second thought was, idiots poorly representing our country.

Third thought was phew Australia and Canada beat us to it in recent history.

I always have the impression mainland Chinese tourists rank top in this kind of act  ::(

[segesta]

And meanwhile, ISIS is bulldozing entire historic cities in Iraq.

The Colosseum has survived Goths, Visigoths, Vandals, fire, abandonment, civil war, Fascism, and a nearby McDonalds. It will survive two knuckleheads from California.

[ken farr]

And meanwhile, ISIS is bulldozing entire historic cities in Iraq.

The Colosseum has survived Goths, Visigoths, Vandals, fire, abandonment, civil war, Fascism, and a nearby McDonalds. It will survive two knuckleheads from California.

....never underestimate the power of California knuckleheads.....


kjf

[Arizona Wayne]

....never underestimate the power of California knuckleheads.....


kjf

The Left coast used to refer to California.  Now it's the whole left coast including Oregon & Washington.  :'(   When I moved from soCal to Oregon in `71 for a job they used to say "don't Californicate Oregon."  
Too late, it's been done.  Ditto Washington.  Have lived in all 3.  I had no part in it.  ;)   Now live in Arizona.  :BEER:

[Lannis]

Yes, idiots.

Feed them to the lions.   >:(

I have never understood graffiti.  Period.

Bill

I think that every country has its own traditions of horrible tourists.   Americans, Brits, Germans, Koreans, they all misbehave or act stupid at one time or another.   

When my son was going ashore in the Mediterranean on liberty from his ship in Malta, Ephesus, Israel, and other spots, he said that the worst, rudest, pushiest, dirtiest tourists by a long chalk are the Russians.   I suppose everyone gets a chance at it.

But you're right.  Vandalism (and the original Vandals were sacking Rome 1600 years ago!) is a really inexplicable crime that should have an appropriate punishment with it ....

Lannis

[normzone]

....never underestimate the power of California knuckleheads.....


kjf

Is that an old Harley Davidson reference ?

[blackcat]

And meanwhile, ISIS is bulldozing entire historic cities in Iraq.

Fortunately, not all were destroyed:

"Samuel Andrew Hardy, a specialist in the trade in illicit antiquities who teaches at the American University of Rome, explained on his blog that one of the one of the exhibits shown in pieces on the Museum floor, a statue of the seventh-century-B.C. Assyrian king Sargon, was a reproduction of the original. “The Assyrian reliefs (carved panels),” he added, “were plaster cast replicas of pieces that are in the British Museum.”

Christopher Jones @cwjones89

Most of the destroyed statues seem to be from Hatra. Most of the Assyrian relief sculptures in the museum are replicas."

[earemike]

When I was in Salamanca, España the local kids had tagged the Roman bridge. I was shocked at the lack of respect & don't think it's just the tourists (& some of these types are the tourists...)

[Petrus Rocks]

Worst graffiti I ever saw was in a Czech castle near Praha.  Once the center of the Holy Roman empire, Russian graffiti covered many walls inside the castle.  I was told by guides it was the soldiers.  The castle was only from the 1500's, not that old.
There's boors everywhere.

[Sasquatch Jim]

 Kilroy was here syndrome.
 A cretins attempt at wit.

[Kev m]

All this has happened before, all this will happen again...

[scra99tch]

There history in that Graffiti, some have taken a curiosity to Graffiti's from past.  It sometimes gave a mood to that era.  I know archaeologists have studied it as it has been around for a long time.


Most of it is tasteless but I have been amazed at the patience or wit of quite a few bits.

[bad Chad]

All this has happened before, all this will happen again...

Sometimes when you have nothing worth while to say, its best not to say anything.   

Just my opinion, and I often enough don't heed my own advice.

[Vasco DG]

It's not an 'American' problem, it's a philistine problem. Unfortunately there are a lot of people in the world who are so stupid and ignorant its amazing they can breathe but they have disposable income, (Or perhaps their parents do?) and absolutely no idea about history, culture or the importance of the history of humanity.

The most extreme examples are the ISIS a/AlQuada scum whose iconoclastic approach is destroying some of the most valuable cultural treasures of the cradle of Civilization but 'Thickies' from all over the world are also able to inflict a 'Death by a Thousand Cuts'.

If I was to go to the Lincoln Memorial and chisel my initials into one of the columns I would expect the authorities to take a very dim view of it, as would most of the people on this board I'd think. Just because something is thousands of years old doesn't diminish either its relevance or importance.

I'm with Bill. Feed 'em to the lions!

Pete

[Kev m]

Sometimes when you have nothing worth while to say, its best not to say anything.  

Just my opinion, and I often enough don't heed my own advice.

?

Not worth while or just cleanly over your head?

It's a pop culture reference to the anthropological concept that the human race tends to repeat its own history.

That there are no new sins and none of us are without sin, and in that way culturally we're more the same than different.

And for that reason it's silly for any of us to cast aspersions at another culture (or person).

So that makes your post what, thrice ironic?

;D

[blackcat]

People do stupid shit all of the time.

[Bill Hagan]

People do stupid shit all of the time.

That should be in one of those "Write the Caption" contests.   ;D

Bill

[oldbike54]

 What does that tattoo even mean  ??? I that a dress ?

  Dusty

[blackcat]

What does that tattoo even mean  ??? I that a dress ?

  Dusty

Dusty, you spend too much time on WG. ;D

"The lace-striped Roman Originals dress became an Internet sensation after a Scottish folk singer shared a picture of it and asked for input on what color it was."

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/texas-man-tattoos-dress-leg-article-1.2133534

[oldbike54]

Dusty, you spend too much time on WG. ;D

"The lace-striped Roman Originals dress became an Internet sensation after a Scottish folk singer shared a picture of it and asked for input on what color it was."

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/texas-man-tattoos-dress-leg-article-1.2133534

 Who are Ken Kardasian and Tylor Swit ? Maybe I do need to catch up on pop culture , still not sure this makes any sense  ::)

  Dusty

[Pasta Hog]

My favorite vandalism story is the one about the Utah Boy Scouts who threw dinosaur footprints into a reservoir.

[Lannis]

Who are Ken Kardasian and Tylor Swit ? Maybe I do need to catch up on pop culture , still not sure this makes any sense  ::)

  Dusty

Really, don't bother.   Keeping up with that stuff is a sign that your brain is turning to mush.

I don't have a TV at home, but when I'm in a motel, and turn on the TV, or see the soft-porn "Fox News Entertainment" I can feel my IQ dropping by 50 points.   There's J-Lo's and Cardassians and "Brad and Jen" and myriads of "who's doing who" gossip shows and nipple slips and who wore what at the Oscars and who didn't have on a bra and tons of stuff like that.

I know that people snort and don't believe you when you say you never saw "Seinfeld" or "Friends" or "Sex and the City" and don't know who Britney or Miley are and never have watched HBO and don't know who any of those people are, nor care.    But I believe you, because I've never watched any of it either.   I can find out who's who in a second on Google if I want, but it's just not worth it.   

We're better men for NOT wasting brain capacity on it!   ;)   :D     I can quote all the dialogue from "The Princess Bride" or "The Matrix", though, so that's something.....  ::)

Lannis 

[56Pan]

Really, don't bother.   Keeping up with that stuff is a sign that your brain is turning to mush.



Lannis 

 :+1 :+1 :+1 :+1 :+1 :+1 :+1 :+1

[oldbike54]

Lannis , I do watch a bit of TV , mostly animated stuff , a couple of silly sitcoms , some of the Brilliant British  
sitcoms , PBS Docs , and of course Dr Who . I just never know the names of the actors , except for the ones that populate Last of the summer wine  ;D Peter Sallis is my hero  ;) :D

  Dusty

[youcanrunnaked]

Remember this one?



http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/23/us-student-rescued-giant-vagina-sculpture-germany